No. 22 Michigan State holds off Iowa, 62-59

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Keith Appling’s four crucial free throws Thursday night weren’t nearly as exciting as his late basket in Michigan State’s win over Kansas back in November.

Still, Appling showed why the little things make all the difference between winning and losing on the road in the Big Ten.

Branden Dawson scored a career-high 17 points, including a late steal and tiebreaking dunk, and Appling went 4 for 4 from the line in the final 20 seconds as the 22nd-ranked Spartans sneaked past Iowa, 62-59.

Gary Harris added 14 points despite hurting his left shoulder in the first half for the Spartans (13-3, 2-1), who hung on for their eighth win in nine games.

“There’s a lot of things we need to get better at. But that was a big win on the road, especially the way we played,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said.

Dawson provided the game-changing play when he ripped the ball away from Iowa freshman Mike Gesell and gave Michigan State a 58-56 lead with 49 seconds left.

But Appling, whose acrobatic layup with 14 seconds left beat the Jayhawks two months ago, provided the buffer with four straight from the foul line.

“I said, ‘Keith, it’s going to be like Kansas. I’m putting it in your hands. You’ve got to make some decisions,’” Izzo said.

By contrast, Hawkeyes freshman Anthony Clemmons missed a free throw that would have tied it with 12 seconds to go. He also airballed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.